Friedenthal Financial Takes $973,000 Position in Southern Company (The) $SO

Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 10,085 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $973,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SO. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Spirepoint Private Client LLC lifted its holdings in Southern by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 97,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,513,000 after purchasing an additional 11,460 shares in the last quarter. Marble Wealth LLC bought a new position in Southern in the 4th quarter worth about $4,443,000. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO boosted its stake in Southern by 243.3% in the 4th quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 20,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,815,000 after purchasing an additional 14,753 shares during the period. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,462,000. Institutional investors own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total value of $2,416,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $95.77 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $93.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.23. Southern Company has a twelve month low of $83.80 and a twelve month high of $100.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This is a boost from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SO. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Southern from $103.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Evercore upgraded shares of Southern from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $111.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $89.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a research note on Wednesday. Seaport Research Partners lowered shares of Southern from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Mizuho set a $105.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.26.

Southern Profile

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.